US broadcaster ESPN has announced that Formula 1 action will be free from commercials for the remainder of the 2018 season.
ESPN picked up coverage of Formula 1 in the United States after previous broadcaster NBC Sports opted not to renew its contract.
ESPN runs Sky Sports’ coverage, which includes practice, qualifying and the races, as well as its build-up show, and came in for criticism during the Australian Grand Prix after it encountered technical issues, prompting an apology.
ESPN trialled a commercial-free broadcast during the Bahrain Grand Prix last weekend and confirmed on Tuesday that it will retain that approach for the rest of the year.
“We intend to present the F1 races in this way for the balance of the 2018 season," said Burke Magnus, ESPN Executive Vice President, Programming & Scheduling.
"F1 fans are passionate and we listened to a lot of feedback from them. The fans are very informed and the feedback we received was both polite and constructive. It helped us.
"We don't have a completely finished product but we're very happy with the way the changes after Australia were received. We'll continue to keep working to make it better for the fans."
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